Shabby

December 31, 2011

Can you believe we're living the last day of 2011? Time flies! On my nails something festive of course. This is by far my favourite sponged mani. In real life it's much sparklier than the pictures show, totally awesome! Yesterday I posted my ten favourite manis of 2011, but I must add this mani to the list.. so a top 11 for 2011 it is, how convenient, lol. I applied two coats of Kelly from Zoya. Then I sponged half of the nail with Speciallità - Hefesto, an amazing prismatic top coat. For some extra bling I also added Blair from Essence on the tips.

Have a wonderful day/evening/night! I hope 2012 will be an amazing year for you all. :h

December 29, 2011

Today I'm showing you a couple of nail polishes from the new Boudoir Secrets collection from Teeez.

"This elegant make-up collection is decorated with unique vintage charms that makes each product a treasure on its own, disguising the bold secrets inside. Because underneath the abundance hides a rebellious diva, like the 18th century queen of France Marie Antionette, who was passionate for the pleasures in life."

Teeez - Cool (04) is a light blue shade with a subtle silver shimmer. I really like the colour, but it was difficult to apply due to the thick formula. I swatched it twice 'cause it looked awful the first time (and I think every polish deserves a decent swatch), but I'm still not happy with how it looks on my nails, bummer! This is three coats.

Teeez - Gutsy (05) is a peachy nude coloured polish with gold shimmer. I can't say I'm a fan of this colour, but it applied much easier than Cool. Two coats.

Teeez - Femme Fatale (09) is a berry creme. Ahh, saved the best for last! This one is gorgeous and it applied like butter in two coats.

To be honest, I'm not blown away by these nail polishes. Next to the unique shades Teeez made in the past, these three don't look so special. The packaging is cute though. :) Oh, but what's up with the names? I already own shades from Teeez called Cool and Femme Fatale. This can be somewhat confusing, I wish they gave them new names and not just a different number.

Teeez nail polishes cost €4,90 for 8,5 ml. They're Big 3 Free. You can find more information on their website.

Thanks for watching!

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes.

December 27, 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, I did! The church service was nice, the food was yummy and spending time with my loved ones is always great. ♥ I was happy with Ares on my nails, but after a day I wanted something else. Something darker. So I applied one coat of a england - Camelot and one coat of Speciallità - Ares. The result: dark maroon coloured nails with a smashing prismatic effect. Like!

December 24, 2011

It's a little obvious to wear red for Christmas, but I just lóve red. I decided to wear Speciallità's Ares, a coral leaning red prismatic polish. Isn't it pretty? I think it's perfect! Applying Ares was super easy, two coats were enough for an opaque result.

That's it for today... I wish you all a merry, merry Christmas! :h May God bless you!

Thanks for watching!

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes.

December 22, 2011

I love combining red and black, so why not use both colours on my nails? I started with applying one coat of Camelot from a england and let it dry. Then I taped of the sides and applied Kleancolor - Bite Me, a wonderful red glitter polish. After removing the tape I used a matte top coat. I like how it looks subtle and edgy at the same time. 8)

The glossy version looks nice too, but I'm hooked on matte glitter nails.

December 20, 2011

Another stunner from Speciallità's Hits No Olimpo collection: Hera. This nail polish has a bright teal coloured base with fine prismatic particles. The prismatic effect is insane, I wish I could have captured all its beauty on a photograph. I'm madly in love with this one, seriously.. could it get better than this? ♥ The formula was nice, no application issues with Hera (although the gigantic flat brush surprised me a little). I used two coats, no top coat.

The Hits No Olimpo polishes cost around $4 (for 6 ml) at Speciallità (the webshop is closed for the holidays till the 4th of January). You can also buy them for $10 a bottle at Llarowe. Please note that these nail polishes aren't Big 3 Free, they contain toluene and formaldehyde.

Thanks for watching!

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes.

December 17, 2011

I was curious how Speciallità - Zeus would look like next to other dark(er) prismatic polishes I own. So I made a little comparison with Catherine Arley #805 (pinkie nail - two coats), Chainmail Charm from Diamond Cosmetics (middle finger nail - two coats) and three coats of Zeus on the other nails. #805 from Catherine Arley is a true black, it's more pigmented and darker than Zeus. Another difference is the scattered prismatic effect of #805; it looks really different next to the other two. As you can see Chainmail Charm has a somewhat brownish base compared to Zeus' more charcoal base colour. I think Chainmail Charm has a beautiful prismatic effect, but it looks kinda dull next to the intense rainbows Zeus shows. My advice? If you can get your hands on Zeus, well.. get it! ^_^

December 14, 2011

When Daniela from the Brazillian nail polish brand Speciallità asked me if I wanted to review the Hits No Olimpo collection, my answer was yes. YES. A collection with thirteen prismatic shades, how could I say no to that? The Hits No Olimpo polishes are all named after Olympian gods and goddesses. Today I'm showing you Zeus, a charcoal polish with fine prismatic particles. It also has a subtle gold flashing shimmer. The prismatic effect is really intense, I couldn't believe my eyes! This is so freakin' awesome. *drools* The fomula was nice, I used three thin coats, no top coat.

The Hits No Olimpo polishes cost around $4 (for 6 ml) at Speciallità. The site's written in Portuguese, but exploring it isn't so hard due to easy navigation. Please note that these polishes aren't Big 3 Free, they contain toluene and formaldehyde.

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes.

December 12, 2011

Recently I posted this red, white & blue mani with arches on the tips. I loved it so much I wanted to recreate it with different colours. Holly-Day was still looking good, so I kept this beautiful green as the base colour. With a random white and Poinsettia from China Glaze I added the arches on the tip of my ring finger nail. For the dots I used China Glaze - 2030. Last time I made these arches on all nails, but I lacked in time, so I did just some accent nails. It looks rather Christmassy don't you think? :)

December 10, 2011

Holly-Day, another stunner from China Glaze's Let It Snow collection. This is what I call a perfect nail polish. Gorgeous colour, applies like butter, opaque in two coats and I have to say it once more: gor-geous colour. ♥

December 8, 2011

Blue Addicted from Essence finally found the way to my nails. Isn't it insanely pretty? This is one coat over a forest green creme (Orly - Enchanted Forest). And as you can see I also applied a layer of matte top coat, 'cause I think there's nothing hotter than mattified glitter nails. Blue Addicted could use some thinner, but other than that: great job with this one, Essence! :tup

December 5, 2011

Today I decided to crown my hands with another beauty from the brand a england. Guinevere has a creme finish and I would describe the colour as a muted mauve. It reminds me a lot of Parlez-vous OPI? from OPI, but Guinevere is lighter and more blue-toned. A lovely shade, very soft and feminine looking. It's surprisingly pigmented for a pastel shade, two coats will give you full opacity. The formula is fairly thick, it wouldn't level out nicely when I was applying the first coat, but luckily the second coat smoothened everything out.

Thanks for watching!

*The product(s) in this post was/were sent to me for reviewing purposes.

December 2, 2011

Recently I made this Holland themed cake for a befriended couple. I bought the Delft blue kissing couple (non-edible) a while ago and now I finally had the chance to use it on a cake. I thought it would be nice to use the colours of the Dutch flag: red, white and blue. These colours look so great together! So I also used them on my nails; China Glaze - Poinsettia (a new fav!) as the base colour, a random white and Chuck from Essence for the arches on the tips. I also placed some silver dots with China Glaze - Millennium. A layer of top coat and done!

I hope you enjoyed this new episode of Match the Nails to the Cake. :) Below you can see a collage with all the cakes I shared with you until now; a colourful whole, isn't it? I really like sharing this other passion here and hope you don't mind looking at more cakes (ánd matching nails) in the future!

December 1, 2011

I want to thank everyone for all the warm birthday wishes; I'm touched.. you're all so sweet! It made me realize once again how much my lovely readers mean to me. ♥

I had a wonderful day yesterday with family, friends and cake. ^_^ At night we went to Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' concert and it was ridiculously awesome. So nice of them to play on my birthday, lol.

November 28, 2011

After I removed my last mani I decided to go for China Glaze's Tinsel Town on all nails. Just what I expected (and needed): awesomesauce! I see two types of silver glitter in a sheer, dark grey base. This is not just a silver glitter polish, the dark base makes it look really cool and unique. The formula is nice, this is how Tinsel Town looks after two easy coats. The finish is a bit rough, even after applying top coat, but not too gritty for me. The only downside is the wear time; I discovered some chips after a day of wear. But hey, does it even matter if you're thát pretty? ;)

Just when I thought it couldn't get better I decided to use Sapphire Sparkle from CND. An extra coat of sparkle? Yes please. ♥

November 24, 2011

I just received Tinsel Town and Poinsettia from China Glaze's Let It Snow collection and my hands were itching to use them. Can you blame me..? They're SO pretty! I applied three coats of Poinsettia, a super glossy blue-toned red, and the glittery Tinsel Town at the base of the nail. I really like to use glitter for accents, but I can imagine Tinsel Town looking totally awesome on its own. Can't wait to try it. :)

Poinsettia reminded me of one of my all-time favourites: Kristi from Zoya. And look how close they are! I used two coats here. As you can see Kristi is more opaque and maybe a bit darker; Poinsettia is much more glossier. But you can increase the opacity with an extra coat and use a top coat for a glossy finish.. so let me conclude by saying you probably don't need both.

November 22, 2011

Last time I showed you a bold stamping combination, but I like them subtle too! For this look I applied two coats of Catrice - Sing: Hey, Dirty Lilah!, a greyed out lilac with a subtle silver shimmer (subtle as in it barely shows up on the nail). An interesting shade, like it can't decide if it's lilac or grey. The formula was on the thick side, I had some trouble getting an even result; luckily a layer of top coat helped to even out the streaks. After a day of wear I added the paisley-like pattern from Konad plate M64. I used Konad's Princess Special Polish in Light Gray as the stamping polish. I'm not impressed by the quality of Light Gray, some stamped parts look a little patchy, bummer! To finish it off I dotted silver dots over the stamped dots with Millennium from China Glaze and applied a layer of top coat. And do I like the end result..? Oh yes! ♥